Randall Bloomquist

[jbaxter]

WRVA was indeed a disaster under Bloomquist. But I'll bet the newscasters had nice racks.

 

[CaptnKarl]

I think he’s made poor decisions, fired the wrong people, and seriously damaged GST.The posts I’ve seen here indicate a history of poor decisions in other markets. How did Mr. Bloomquist get the gig in Atlanta?

 

[Firebird]

How did Mr. Bloomquist get the gig in Atlanta?

They wanted to hire a monkey, but Marc Chase wanted someone even more stupid than himself....... ;D :

 

[itburnswhenipee]

When WGST was pulling a 2.5 share last year, nobody thought it could possibly get any worse. Somehow, Bloomy made it worse. ???

 

[outoftowner]

Try a LOT WORSE. Their December trend was a 2.6, now they're at a 1.4 in adults. Nice going Bloomy.Ditto to Firebird on Marc Chase.

 

[wareagle]

I'm reminded of this holiday classic from the Regular Guys website:MARC CHASE THE REDNECKED MORONMarc Chase the rednecked moronMust have a really brown noseCause if you've seen the ratingsHis stations are at all time lowsEveryone at Clear Channel Wonders at how Marc's still thereWhen everything he's attemptedIs no longer on the airBack when the fall book came outHogan came to say"Marc Chase with your neck so redSome days I wish you were dead"Still all the V.P.'s love himHear them shouting from their hearts"Marc Chase the rednecked moronNext to you we look half-smart!"

 

[radiocat]

I think he’s made poor decisions, fired the wrong people, and seriously damaged GST.The posts I’ve seen here indicate a history of poor decisions in other markets. How did Mr. Bloomquist get the gig in Atlanta?

cappy... GST was done 3 years ago. randall has had nothing to do with this. if anything he's trying to motivate a staff and make some changes to make gst better. maybe he will, maybe he won't.. maybe gst is dead no matter what and the ATL will get a f.m. talker.

 

[jbaxter]

Cat's right, Atlanta needs an FM talker and hopefully not one owned by Clear Channel (see Real Radio). But I also agree with Captn Karl that Bloomquist has severely damaged WGST. What else would you call losing almost half the target audience in four months? Cat says GST was "dead" three years ago, but I bet they would kill for the audience they had in 2003. Or December 2005 for that matter.

 

[radionut925]

Re: We have broadcasr de-wreck-ulation to thank!!

The slide really started when Jacor went into acquisition mode in 1996.It was the beginning of a new era in radio.....one management group trying to manage hundres of radio stations. There was much speculation that it was too much for one group to handle.....and I think experience has taught us exactly that!Randy Micheals, for all his brilliance, was unable to sail these uncharted waters. And so it has been a learning process ever since.....some companies have done better than others. Those who have implemented the "franchise formula" have created some profitability.(ClearChannel does cookie cutter radio)But it has been a STEEP learning curve and the path is littered with dead bodys.Broadcast deregulation is the worst single event in the last 50 years. Broadcast service to the public is a joke.....broadcast has a singular purpose....to create profitability for shareholders. Public interest and service is only a "profitability" consideration.....that is, serve the public if there is money to be made.And for those of us in the industry.....well, it has been interesting. There have been changes(i.e. voice tracking, station consolidation) which have eliminated jobs. It is almost impossible to find a small station to practice your chops on....most have been swallowed by large media groups or are voicetracked. No need for beginners anymore!It is time to break up the big companies and limit ownership. This is not because of profits....this is because it is in the public interest. COMPETITION is good....we need more than 5-6 companies for EFFECTIVE competition.

Agreed. Consolidation was probably the worst thing to happen to terrestrial radio in at least the last 10 years. The Clear Channel's of the world only care about making money and pleasing everyone on Wall Street, not about what the average listener wants to hear. It's too bad that Congress and the FCC don't have the common sense to even address what damage they've caused with the Telecommunications Act of 1996, much less doing anything to reverse it.

 

[CaptnKarl]

RE: WBTA little online research shows that Mr. Bloomquist is indeed a “hatchet man”.Does anyone on this board have knowledge of Charlotte radio in the late 90’s, and did he bring success to WBT? In a 2000 Charlotte Business Chronicle article, Mr. Bloomquist wrote “My team and I succeeded in that assignment. Four years ago, the station was debilitated by complacency, lack of focus and outdated programming. Today, WBT is a news-talk station of the first order, staffed by dedicated professionals whose work is admired throughout the industry.”Article:http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2000/09/25/editorial1.html

 

[surfdude]

Capn'...why are you taking this personally? You have an ax to grind?You sound pathetic.I worked with Bloomquist at WBT. He got the job done. Contemporized the station and delivered better "saleable" demos...I know, I was in sales.Is Randall perfect? No. But WGST apparently needs a lot of work.18 months minimum to make a difference.Why this much "discussion" on a non-player in the market?

 

[jbaxter]

Got the job done at WBT? For who, the competition? The ratings went DOWN during Randy's tenure in Charlotte, as they have everywhere else he has worked.

 

[outoftowner]

RE: WBTA little online research shows that Mr. Bloomquist is indeed a “hatchet man”.Does anyone on this board have knowledge of Charlotte radio in the late 90’s, and did he bring success to WBT? In a 2000 Charlotte Business Chronicle article, Mr. Bloomquist wrote “My team and I succeeded in that assignment. Four years ago, the station was debilitated by complacency, lack of focus and outdated programming. Today, WBT is a news-talk station of the first order, staffed by dedicated professionals whose work is admired throughout the industry.”Article:http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2000/09/25/editorial1.html

Hey Captn, you left out the best part of that article, it's where where Bloomquist says: : “Ratings-savvy readers are no doubt shaking their heads at my contention that we succeeded in revamping WBT over the past four years. They know the station's share of the all-important 25-54-year-old audience is no bigger than when I arrived. True enough.” Bloomquist ADMITS the ratings when nowhere during his time at WBT (in fact they actually fell) yet he devotes nine painfully long paragraphs to patting himself on the back for his “accomplishments”! No wonder the magazine printed it, they were able to show Charlotte what a nut case Bloomquist is with his own words.I guess WBT should consider themselves lucky, even they didn't lose 45% of their adult audience in four months like GST has under Bloomie.http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2000/09/25/editorial1.html

 

[Mike Sheridan]

I just read the article and I think the man gives himself way too much credit. WBT is a very conservative station in a very conservative city. It's also the only game in town. There isn't another AM that has anywhere near the power or the history on the dial. The next largest AM's are Sports 610 WFNZ and 930 WYFQ which belongs to the Bible Broadcast Network. Neither station can match the power of WBT day or night. The The only other news/talk in the market is the Charlotte NPR station WFAE-FM which is very popular here.The only thing that was proved is WBT is so much a part of Charlotte that even Mr. Bloomquist couldn't blow it up! The ratings on WBT go up and down with the news/political cycles.Mike Sheridan

RE: WBTA little online research shows that Mr. Bloomquist is indeed a “hatchet man”.Does anyone on this board have knowledge of Charlotte radio in the late 90’s, and did he bring success to WBT? In a 2000 Charlotte Business Chronicle article, Mr. Bloomquist wrote “My team and I succeeded in that assignment. Four years ago, the station was debilitated by complacency, lack of focus and outdated programming. Today, WBT is a news-talk station of the first order, staffed by dedicated professionals whose work is admired throughout the industry.”Article:http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2000/09/25/editorial1.html

 

[Mike Sheridan]

My gripe is that he got rid of one of the most talented radio guys at WBT, Mike Collins. Maybe Mike's thoughtful intelligent way of looking at things didn't jive with the "mega dittos" crowd.Mike Collins gave more to that station than Randell ever did. Mike loved WBT and I believe it still bothers him that he got the axe. To him WBT wasn't just a stepping stone to another station.MikeSheridan

Capn'...why are you taking this personally? You have an ax to grind?You sound pathetic.I worked with Bloomquist at WBT. He got the job done. Contemporized the station and delivered better "saleable" demos...I know, I was in sales.Is Randall perfect? No. But WGST apparently needs a lot of work.18 months minimum to make a difference.Why this much "discussion" on a non-player in the market?

 

[CaptnKarl]

Capn'...why are you taking this personally? You have an ax to grind?You sound pathetic.I worked with Bloomquist at WBT. He got the job done. Contemporized the station and delivered better "saleable" demos...I know, I was in sales.Is Randall perfect? No. But WGST apparently needs a lot of work.18 months minimum to make a difference.Why this much "discussion" on a non-player in the market?

I kinda like the "non-player".I don’t personally know anyone at GST or Clear Channel, but when you listen to folks for years and they get fired for no apparent reason it feels personal. This forum is a place to vent, and I’m certain that Clear Channel management reads it.We only have two news stations in Atlanta, and I’m just trying to find out why one of them is about to crash and burn due to poor management decisions. The information I’ve found on the Internet and in this forum leads me to believe that Mr. Bloomquist is making mistakes. Perhaps he should join his "mistakes" in the unemployment line.

 

[surfdude]

To judge WGST this early under Randall's directorshipis just crazy. Let's revisit in 18 months for the true story.(good or bad)FYI: News/Talk stations do not need high ratings to make money.Many advertisers get great results from "Talk" stations because of the nature of the format.

 

[Firebird]

To judge WGST this early under Randall's directorshipis just crazy. Let's revisit in 18 months for the true story.(good or bad)

Nancy Zintak also said her Planet Radio would need 18 months to find an audience. She and the Planet Radio moniker were gone before Labor Day 1997, about 3 months. ??? 8) ;D

 

[jbaxter]

To judge WGST this early under Randall's directorshipis just crazy. Let's revisit in 18 months for the true story.(good or bad)FYI: News/Talk stations do not need high ratings to make money.Many advertisers get great results from "Talk" stations because of the nature of the format.

Give him 18 months, so he can lose the other half of the audience? I'm sure WSB, GKA and the Zone would love that.

 

[jimbo722]

While I'm not sticking up for Bloomquist, I believe the slide started before he got here. If you're brought in to right a sinking ship, then you may have to make decisions that are unpopular. A good number on this board want something to be done to turn WGST around, but when changes are made, you jump all over him. I think Glenn Beck was gone when Bloomquist got here. Denny Shaffer may or may not be the right choice, but let's be realistic, give me a name that would seriously compete against Boortz and put a dent in his numbers. I can't think of any. Maybe some of the recent firings (Kari Dean, Pete Davis, Wayne "No offense") have been a financial ones due to the poor ratings. If he ever does get the ratings back up to a respectable level, maybe then he can hire some of the quality people back, or go after some really top notch people to compete.Maybe WGST should have picked up Hannity when he went syndicated, who knows. Let's have some good ideas here, instead of just bashing the station and say the only solution is to blow it up. C'mon, we need more than one viable Newstalk station in this area, or else WSB becomes another AJC manopoly.If WGST had half the listeners and ratings than the attention they get on this board, then they'd be doing very well.